Chile open bids for exploration and production of 400,000 tons of lithium with the aim of meeting the growing demand for this metal worldwide, the Ministry of Mining reported this Wednesday in a statement.
The national and international call will be made “through a public, competitive and transparent process” in order to “tender and award” contracts to “produce a total of 400,000 tons of marketable metallic lithium, divided into five quotas of 80,000 tons each. one, without a specific geographic location ”, detailed the ministry.
The awards will be for a period of seven years, extendable for another two, to carry out geological exploration, studies and development of the project, to which another 20 years of production will be added.
Chile is the second largest lithium producer in the world with 29% of world supply, and by 2025 it plans to double its production, approaching 250,000 tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE).
For more than 40 years, Chile declared lithium of national interest, which is currently coveted in the world market for the production of batteries, the development of electromobility and to satisfy the greater consumption of clean energy.
Global demand for this metal will quadruple by 2030, reaching 1.8 million tons of lithium carbonate, according to ministry projections.
The Chilean company SQM and the US company Albemarle SQM exploit the Salar de Atacama (north) in Chile, one of the richest lithium deposits in the world.
Australia is the largest lithium producer with 48% of the global supply.
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